OUR HISTORY

 

The history of Our Lady of Fatima Church, Majiwada is intimately connected with the history of the Catholic Church in Thane, and particularly with St. John the Baptist Church.

 

Even before the Portuguese missionaries brought the Christian faith to Thane around the middle of the 16th century, Thane had already acquired a place in the history of the Church in India. In the year 1321, four Franciscan friars suffered martyrdom in Thane. More than two centuries later, the Franciscans were back.

 

Their first attempt to open a house in Thane was a failure. However, a second attempt was made, and much later in 1580 they succeeded; in 1582 they built the St. Anthony Friary.

 

The Franciscans were not the only ones to come to Thane. There were also the Jesuits, the Augustinians and the Dominicans, from 1549 to 1737 no less than 9 Churches were built in Thane town and its environs:

1.     Mother of God (1549) by the Jesuits.

2.   Our lady of Grace (1574) by the Augustinians.

3.   St. John the Baptist church (sometime before (1579) by the secular clergy.

4.   St. Anthony (1582) by the Franciscans.

5.    O.L. of the Rosary (1605) by the Dominicans.

6.   O.L. of Hope (sometimes before1630) at Ghormal by the Franciscans.

7.    O.L. of the Immaculate Conception (before 1634) very likely by the secular priests.

8.   O.L.of Mercy (before 1669 at Venaganacer (Pokhran) by the Jesuits

 

When the Marathas captured Thane in 1737 all the churches except that of St. Anthony, were destroyed. (The ruins of Ghormal and the Pokhran churches outside Thane still exist. The Ghormal Church was renovated about 4-5 years back. These perhaps had fallen into disrepair when the Portuguese missionaries had to leave Thane)

 

Till recently the parish of St. John the Baptist, which was founded as a full Parish in the year 1582, was the most extensive of all the parishes in the Archdiocese, with a Catholic population that resided from Mulund to Dombivli, and from Bhiwandi to Belapur. To accommodate the ever-growing number of parishioners in a highly industrialized area of the state, the church was extended in 1965, and two schools (besides two centrally located schools) opened at outlying points of the parish.

 

On 6th June 1954, a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima was blessed by His Eminence Valerian Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay), as an extension centre, to cater to the growing population in the area. It was then a small Chapel with most of the faithful being the local East Indian community.  The Eucharist was celebrated by a Priest from St. John the Baptist Church, Thane, since this Majiwada Chapel was one of its many extension centres. Over a period of time, the village and its surrounding areas  developed and the number of faithful in the area grew in numbers.

 

Our Lady of Fatima Church celebrated its Silver Jubilee in June, 1979 and in 1992 was demerged from St.John the Baptist Church and  became a Quasi Parish ( a Quasi Parish is a Parish on the way to becoming a full-fledged Parish).

 

The then chapel was built in the year 1954 and was dedicated to the faithful of Majiwada on 6th June by His Eminence Valerian Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay.

 

Majiwada-Gaon is no longer a village. It is a bubbling town is situated on Old Agra Road (Off. Ghodbunder Road) and is about 5 Kms. away from Thane Railway Station.

 

Today, we Parishioners are proud to have a beautiful Church and a vibrant  Parish, with around 1000 families, divided into 24 Small Christian Communities and many Associations, Cells and Groups working together to usher in a way of being Church.